The Catalan crisis: Catalonia is electing regional authorities

On Thursday, 21 December 2017, Catalonia will held fresh regional elections. The upcoming elections were called by Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, after he had dismissed the former pro-secessionist Catalan government in the aftermath of Catalonia’s self-determination referendum and following the unilateral declaration of independence of October 2017. Early polls indicate that the pro-independence party (ERC) and anti-separatist party (CS) are gaining similar support. Therefore, the final choice of the Catalan people would serve as an expression of society’s attitudes towards the political future of Catalonia.